The location - routing problem: an innovative approach

The logistics system of a firm deals with purchased materials carrying, controls work in process in each production phase and the flow of the products delivered to the customer, defines the backtracking of a discarded, disused or damaged product, to reemploy its parts or materials. The structures displaced within the logistics network must guarantee an opportune level of service and the cutback of logistics costs. Transport system performance are, therefore, of primary importance. In literature they are present accurate mathematical models and effective solution techniques to face location, allocation and distribution problems. The topic is still of extreme scientific interest because of the increasing structural complexity of the models due to the constraints imposed by the "real systems" modelling. In this paper, particularly, a possible approach will be proposed to optimize the routing phase in a Location-Routing Problem (LRP). Results are compared with those obtainable turning to other commonly adopted procedures.